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Re: complex cube roots

Subject: Re: complex cube roots
From: "G. A. Edgar"
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 07:53:01 -0500
Newsgroups: sci.math
In article <1162257513.017058.157220@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
barr <barr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> It is well known and easy to prove that square roots of complex numbers
> can be calculated using real square roots.  That is you can solve the
> equation (x + iy)^2 = a + ib for x and y using only real square roots.
> My question is, is it possible to calculate complex cube roots using
> only real cube and, if necessay, square roots.  I tried, but the
> equations I got seemed intractible.
> 

The famous "casus irriducibilis" !

Google it.

-- 
G. A. Edgar                              http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~edgar/

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